Let's talk about overwork. It happens both in hierarchical and self-organized organizations, but it manifests in different ways. Hierarchical organizations In hierarchical companies, overwork feels imposed. We fall into a victim mentality, with clea...

There are two opposing perspectives on people's motivation. Based on the work of Douglas McGregor they are called Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X assumes that people have little ambition, avoid responsibility, need supervision, and work pr...

A vector has two defining attributes: a direction and a magnitude (i.e. a length). If one of these two attributes is missing, you don't have a vector. If one of these two attributes is missing in your work, you won't make progress. ⬆️ Think of progr...

Talking about paying people fairly requires agreeing on what fairness means (a subjective notion) and acknowledging the historical disadvantages faced by certain groups, particularly women (aka the gender pay gap). Fairpay is used as a platform to a...

The Drama Triangle is a common pattern in relationships that, once understood, can help you defuse drama and foster more productive interactions with your colleagues (and people in general). The Drama Triangle is a model of human interaction develop...

What is it A plan is a step-by-step instruction. It maps out the route. It helps clarify the turns you want to make.A strategy is a decision-making guide. It gives direction. It helps you choose where to go when you get to a fork in the road. One w...

How do you shape companies in a way that allows their employees to do work they really really want to do? This is one of the core questions driving my work. "Really really want" is a phrase Frithjof Bergmann frequently used. He coined the ...

When setting up teams, dependencies can lead to conflicts over time. There's a pattern here that can be explained using a well-known concept from couple's therapy. First, here is how that plays out in relationships between couples and then I will tr...

When you take a break from work, what do you usually do? For me, it’s getting a coffee. Grabbing a coffee during a break isn’t bad in itself. I enjoy coffee, and in the right amount, it feels good. The problem arises when I use coffee as an excuse t...

Old Work is perceived as a means to an end - a way to pay the bills. It's a job. It is OK, or even expected, that it feels dreadful. What you are doing is exchanging your time and effort for money. For many people, there is even the notion that...